3rd Party Food Safety Audits
Published By
Mike Sorrentino
Published On
June 2024
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FDA Finds Four Major Third-Party Food Safety Auditing Standards to be in Alignment with FSMA Regulations
3rd Party Food Safety audit companies come into your establishment to do random audits. They are an independent test to make sure you're up to standard. There are many to choose from and it is an added cost. They come in and create an assessment tailored to your establishment and come in to do surprise audits based on a predetermined schedule. They can check general cleanliness, proper cooling/prepping of food, proper refrigeration, and proper record keeping to name a few.
So do you need these audits? If you are a large chain/cooperation it's a no brainer in my opinion. There is no substitute for an independent check, to see if daily mission critical tasks are being performed. For example line checks; if a quality line is performed each and every shift you would feel much better as an owner/manager right? These audits can really be great tools if used correctly. They should reinforce the current standards and systems. If everyone is onboard then they will be super effective.
Now they do come at a cost. First and foremost it costs money, generally start ups or low volume sites might not be able or willing to pay that cost. Also, if everyone is not onboard then it will not be very effective. Let's say everyone knows it's a new month and the audit is coming; then in the beginning of the month the audit comes and goes. Now for the rest of the month everyone can relax and not follow the rules??? If this is what happens then you are not getting the full value of this service. Another negative aspect is that auditors are not equal, some are good and some are bad. A bad auditor can be very challenging to deal with.
That being said, is it worth it? Well how important is your reputation for serving safe food or products? Once the reputation is formed that it's unsafe to visit your location, how hard is it to turn that reputation around? Ecosure, which is one of the companies that performs food safety audits, boasts on their website that after 4 years of using their service, customer experience 16% decrease in critical findings. If you use the audits correctly and have a fair auditor I believe it can be very useful. I have also seen after some time with these kinds of audits that health department inspections are easier and with less violations.
Now after all that I bet you're asking yourself why can't I just do this service myself? You CAN! It does take a lot of time and effort on your part. It would not be independent but can certainly be done. I have seen these audits used as intended and as a result the establishment is cleaner and serves safer food/products. And I have seen standards imposed rigidly until an audit is performed then everyone takes a breath and lets those standards fall until the next audit time frame. Unfortunately with the later scenario if you visit a location after an audit while the standards are lax … finger crossed!